It was one of the most astonishing tunarounds in the IPL as Lucknow Super Giants messed up an easy run chase to snatch defeat from the mouth of victory, against a spirited Gujarat Titans, in the IPL 2023 match in Lucknow on Saturday, April 22, 2023.
Chasing 136 for victory, LSG were on course for an emphatic win at 105/1 in 14 overs, with another 31 needed in six overs.
Things were going perfectly for the hosts as K L Rahul had got a lifeline on 54 when Vijay Shankar dropped an easy catch at long-on off Jayant Yadav, while at the other end Krunal Yadav also looked quite solid.
Krunal's wicket to debutant spinner Noor Ahmad in the 15th over upset LSG's momentum.
With capable batters till No 9, few would bet against LSG specially with 30 needed from the last five overs, even though the pitch was a bit slow and provided some assistance to the spinners.
Rahul's tactics seemed strange as instead of taking a few chances and finishing off Gujarat's hopes, he looked to play it safe and take the match deep.
Nicholas Pooran struggled to one from five balls before he succumbed to the pressure as he miscued the slog off Noor and was caught by Hardik Pandya.
Another inexplicable move by Lucknow was to send the inexperienced Ayush Badoni ahead of Australia's big-hitter Marcus Stoinis.
Rahul and Badoni put on a slow partnership of 16 runs from 15 balls which allowed Gujarat to pile on the pressure.
One wondered whether Rahul had gone to sleep for a few overs as the situation came down to 12 from the final over, which is still achievable in T20 cricket.
Mohit Sharma continued his fairytale comeback as he had Rahul caught at deep square leg after a struggling 68 from 61 balls.
Rahul, who got to his 50 from 38 balls, scored just 18 from the next 23 balls without a single boundary to put pressure on his team.
Stoinis was left too much to do at the end. He smashed the first ball straight back, but was caught at long-on for a duck. Badoni and Deepak Hooda were run out off the next two balls as Gujarat claimed a sensational seven run win.
Gujarat's bowlers did an amazing job to defend the lowest total of IPL 2023.
LSG's batters didn't hit a single boundary in the last seven overs as they lost five wickets for 22 in the last five overs.
Rahul is fourth in the IPL 2023 run-getters list with 262 runs from seven games, but his strike rate of 113 is an eye sore.
His 68 from 61 balls is the third slowest in IPL history -- by a batter who has played at least 60 balls in his innings.
